Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Friday that some “very long and difficult questions” needed to be answered before the European Union could start membership talks with Ukraine, Politico reported.
The European Commission is due to publish its annual enlargement package next month, and its leaders are set to decide in December whether to start accession talks with Ukraine.
However, Orbán claims the bloc must decide whether it can “seriously consider” membership of Ukraine, which is currently at war.
We don’t know how big the territory of this country is, as the war is still ongoing, we don’t know how big its population is as they are fleeing. To admit a country to the EU without knowing its parameters, this would be unprecedented.
Ukraine gained EU candidate status last summer, but Ukrainian leaders hope to accelerate the multi-year process and join the bloc within two years.
Hungary, which condemned Russia for the war in Ukraine and conflicted with Kyiv numerous times, opposed an EU attempt to create a long-term fund of up to 20 billion euros for the Ukrainian army.
The Hungarian government has also criticised Ukraine’s treatment of Hungarian minorities.
